Veterinary procedures in horses encompass a range of medical and surgical interventions performed to diagnose, treat, and manage equine health conditions. These procedures are designed to address various health issues, from routine care to emergency interventions. Common veterinary procedures include vaccinations, dental care, lameness evaluations, reproductive services, and surgical interventions such as colic surgery or fracture repair. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, outcomes, and advancements in veterinary procedures for horses, providing insights into their application and efficacy in equine medicine.
McCarthy PH.A detailed description is given of the methods to locate and palpate a subcutaneous part of the zygomatic branch of the auriculopalpebral nerve in 9 out of 10 adult horses examined. This permits the exact placing of local anaesthetic along the nerve branch at the described site, resulting in the akinesis of the m orbicularis oculi and the elimination of the blink reflex. This facilitates ophthalmologic examination and possible treatment of some eye conditions.
Ball MA, Allen D, Parks A.A 13 year-old pony was evaluated because of right hind limb lameness of acute onset. Radiographs of the right tarsus obtained shortly after the onset of lameness were normal, but results of nuclear scintigraphy were abnormal. Two radiolucent subchondral cyst-like lesions of the distal part of the tibia were seen on radiographs obtained 9 months later. The lesions were surgically decompressed, and the pony was sound 1 year later. It is hypothesized that a traumatic insult created a crack or split in the articular cartilage that allowed subsequent development of the cyst-like lesions.
Lopes-Pereira CM, Harun M, Schmidtova D, Timane I, Mabasso M, Otto F, Bogin E.Adapting the concept of "bed-side" patient analysis, the Boehringer-Mannheim Reflotron was evaluated for its possible use in veterinary medicine under outdoor-field conditions. Horse blood was analysed with the Cobas Bio analyzer, and indoor and outdoor analyses were also performed with the Reflotron. All values showed close agreement with no significant differences. Good correlation coefficients (r values around 0.9000) were also seen between all methods used. The Reflotron was operated under outdoor-field conditions by using, whenever available, an on-farm electricity source, or a gas operat...
Moore RM, Hance SR, Hardy J, Moore BR, Embertson RM, Constable PD.Colonic luminal pressure (median, range) measured during ventral midline celiotomy in 69 horses with strangulating obstruction (SO) of the large colon (SO; > or = 270 degrees large colon volvulus; 27 cm H2O: 2 to 80 cm H2O) was greater (P = .0023) than that measured in 37 horses with nonstrangulating obstruction (NSO) of the large colon (NSO; < or = 180 degrees volvulus or a nonstrangulating displacement; 18 cm H2O; 6 to 46 cm H2O). Sixty-five percent (45 of 69) of horses with SO and all horses with NSO survived. Survival analysis was restricted to 59 horses with large-colon SO that survived t...
Vatistas NJ, Snyder JR, Wilson WD, Drake C, Hildebrand S.Sixty-seven foals age < 150 days underwent a ventral celiotomy for colic. Of the 67 foals, 51 foals (82%) recovered from anaesthesia and 42 (63%) were subsequently released from the hospital. Three (6%) of the 51 foals were subjected to a repeat celiotomy. Long term follow-up was available on 36 foals. Twenty-nine (57%) of the 51 foals recovered from anaesthesia, were alive at least 2 years following surgery. Adhesions were identified in 8 (17%) of the foals which recovered from general anaesthesia but were subsequently subjected to euthanasia due to recurrent colic. Strangulating lesions were...
Tietje S, Becker M, Böckenhoff G.The rapid development of software and technology now allows a large amount of diagnostic information to be obtained from a computed tomographic examination. This imaging technique can also be usefully applied to the horse, given appropriate premises and a custom built table for accurate positioning. Computed tomography of the skull has considerable advantages over other techniques, as structures are viewed without superimposition. Fifteen cases are used to demonstrate how through high image quality (precise detail, reduction in artefacts) and objective measurement of density, various pathologi...
Fortier LA, Fubini SL, Flanders JA, Divers TJ.Two calves and two foals presented with episodic clinical signs of diffuse central nervous system disease. Portosystemic anomalies were tentatively diagnosed based on the history, clinical signs and increased serum concentrations of blood ammonia and total serum bile acids with normal concentrations of liver derived enzymes. one calf died before intraoperative contrast portography, whereas the other calf and both foals had marked clinical improvement after intensive medical therapy. Surgical correction was attempted in these three animals and was successful in one foal. A right paracostal celi...
Dabareiner RM, White NA, Sullins KE.Case records and radiographs of 71 horses with subchondral lucency, without radiographic evidence of fracture, located on the distal radial carpal bone were examined retrospectively. All horses had lameness and/or joint effusion referable to the carpus. Distal radial carpal bone subchondral lucency was found as a solitary lesion or as a lesion concurrent and symmetric to a contralateral distal radial carpal bone chip fracture. The lesion appeared radiographically as a lucency or shadow on the distal dorsal margin of the radial carpal bone and was most evident on the flexed lateromedial and dor...
Clegg PD, Butson RJ.A nine-year-old Shetland pony gelding, with a history of recurrent upward fixation of the patella, suddenly developed severe lameness in its right hindlimb. A luxation of the coxofemoral joint was diagnosed by a clinical and radiographic examination. The initial treatment of the luxation by closed reduction was not maintained, and the limb was placed in an Ehmer sling for four days after a second closed reduction. This allowed the femoral head to remain in the acetabulum, although a persistent subluxation remained, presumably owing to a rupture of the round ligament. The pony remained comforta...
Kristinsson J, Thordarson TH, Johannesson T.The pharmacokinetics of lignocaine was studied in four Icelandic horses after infiltration anaesthesia. A total of 240 mg of the drug was injected on either side of the left foreleg, over the medial and lateral branches of the palmar nerve. Blood samples were collected up to seven hours after injection and the concentrations of the drug in plasma were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The results showed that lignocaine was rapidly absorbed. A mean maximum concentration of 232 ng/ml was observed after 20 minutes. In three of the horses the decline in the plasma concentration o...
Skarda RT, Muir WW.To examine effects of 0.25 mg of xylazine/kg of body weight diluted to a total volume of 6 ml/450 kg with sterile 0.9% NaCl, administered into the epidural space of the sacrococcygeal joint on perineal analgesia, sedation, ataxia, and respiratory and cardiovascular function in standing mares. Methods: Randomized, blinded study, using xylazine (treatment) and 0.9% NaCl (controls). At least 2 weeks elapsed between the treatments. Methods: Eight healthy mares. Methods: Blood samples were drawn. Systemic hemodynamics were determined, including cardiac output and pulmonary arterial, systemic arteri...
Bell BT, Bridge IS, Sullivan ST.Seventeen horses diagnosed as having navicular syndrome on the basis of history, clinical findings, regional local anaesthesia and radiography were subjected to bilateral navicular suspensory desmotomy. Before surgery, the duration of navicular lameness ranged from 6 weeks to 4 years. Previous unsuccessful treatments prior to surgery included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, corrective shoeing, rest and isoxsuprine. For the seventeen horses subject to surgery, twelve horses were sound, one horse was improved and four horses were lame at a minimum of 6 months after surgery.
Pullin JG, Collier MA, Das P, Smith RL, DeBault LE, Johnson LL, Walls RC.Comparison of perilesional cartilage, lesional repair tissue, and subchondral bone activity 6 months after application of holmium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser energy to chronic (10 week) induced 10-mm full-thickness (FT) circular articular cartilage craters followed by 6 months' intermittent active motion (IAM) in a free exercise environment was investigated. The 2.1-microns wavelength was delivered in hand-controlled near-contact mode by arthroscopic surgery in a saline medium. Bilateral arthroscopy was performed on normal antebrachiocarpal, intercarpal, and metacarpophalangeal join...
Wagner AE, Dunlop CI, Wertz EM, Chapman PL.To determine whether hemodynamic responses of halothane-anesthetized horses undergoing surgical procedures depended on anesthetic induction protocols used, and to determine whether hemodynamic responses to surgical manipulation could be detected. Methods: Prospective experimental study without controls. Methods: 36 clinically normal horses. Methods: Horses were allotted to 5 groups according to anesthetic induction protocol: acepromazine/guaifenesin/thiamylal, acepromazine/guaifenesin/ketamine, xylazine/guaifenesin/thiamylal, xylazine/guaifenesin/ketamine, and xylazine/diazepam/ketamine. Anest...
Kirkland KD, Baker GJ, Manfra Marretta S, Eurell JA, Losonsky JM.To document age-related changes in the morphology of the endodontic system, reserve crown, and roots of equine mandibular cheek teeth. Methods: Equine mandibular cheek teeth from horses of various ages were compared, using radiography, x-ray computed tomography, and histologic examinations. Methods: 48 right hemi-mandibles from horses 2 to 9 years old. Methods: Hemi-mandibles were radiographed, imaged by computed tomographic reconstruction, and reformatted. Histologic examination was used to identify and correlate tissue types. Results: Permanent mandibular cheek teeth of the horse, at the tim...
Buchner HH, Savelberg HH, Becker CK.An analysis of joint moments was used to study the biomechanical implications, load redistribution and kinematic pattern following desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (AL) in adult horses. Recordings of 6 sound horses were made before and 10 days after desmotomy of the AL of the right forelimb at the walk and the trot. Kinematic recordings of the right forelimb and the left distal forelimb were made using the CODA-3 system. Kinetic recordings of the ground reaction forces in both forelimbs were made using a Kistler force plate simultaneously with the kinematic...
Cárdenas S, Gallego M, Valcárcel M, Ventura R, Segura J.A partially automated module for the routine determination of illicit non-steroid antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in biological fluids from race horses was built, tested, refined, and shown to work. This pretreatment module retains 17 NSAIDs on an Amberlite XAD-2 column before back-elution derivatization with methyl iodide in acetonitrile. Methylated derivatives are manually injected into a gas chromatograph connected to a mass spectrometer. The quantification limits thus achieved are 50-100 ng/mL in 1 mL of urine or plasma. The proposed method is more expeditious than its manual liquid-liquid...
Stolk PW, de Waal Malefijt MC, Buma P, Barneveld A.In this paper the successful replacement of an equine metatarsophalangeal joint by a human total condylar knee prosthesis is reported. In the period of observation following implantation of the endoprosthesis the experimental animal showed almost no lameness when exercised at walk, bearing weight on the operated limb. Flexion and extension of the joint were markedly reduced. The clinical and histological observations clearly support further investigation into the equine metatarsophalangeal joint replacement by an endoprosthesis.
Larsen J, Dolvik NI, Teige J.Case histories, results of laboratory analyses, treatment regimens and outcome are described for 13 horses that developed acute enterocolitis after various surgical treatments. Twelve of the 13 horses had been cast in lateral recumbency, and 10 of those 12 had received general anesthesia. Eleven horses had been treated with antimicrobial drugs. Most horses (11) developed diarrhea 2 days after initiation of treatment, with a variation from 1 to 5 days. The most apparent symptoms were fever, up to 40.5 degrees C, elevated heart rate, discoloration of mucous membranes, and diarrhea. Dehydration, ...
Matthews GL, Keegan KG, Graham HL.To determine effects of tendon grip technique on in vitro surface strain measurements of equine deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) when loaded in tension. Methods: 12 hind limb DDFT from 8 adult horses (mean age, 9.8 years [range, 4.5 to 17 years]; mean body weight, 472 kg [range, 450 to 509 kg]), with no clinical evidence of hind limb lameness. Methods: After calibration, liquid mercury strain gauges were sutured to plantar surfaces of the tendons at distal (position 1), middle (position 2), and proximal (position 3) metatarsal regions. Each tendon was affixed to a materials testing machine (d...
Cornelissen BP, Rijkenhuizen AB, Barneveld A.The sesamoidean nerve branches from the palmar nerve and runs towards the proximal sesamoid bone. To study the structures innervated by this nerve, a technique for blocking it was developed. The effect of this nerve block was determined in ponies with an induced lameness located in the lateral proximal sesamoid bone (5 ponies) or in the distal part of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament (5 ponies), and in 10 horses with clinical sesamoidosis. A lameness provoked by the implantation of an expansion plug in the proximal sesamoid bone could, to a large extent, be anaesthetized by a sesa...
Carmona JU, López C, Argüelles D.(1) Background: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has become a cornerstone of equine regenerative medicine, yet significant methodological variability compromises reproducibility and clinical comparability. (2) Methods: This scoping review systematically mapped and analyzed peer-reviewed studies describing equine PRP preparation methods and commercial systems (2000-2024) following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. (3) Results: Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 317 horses and both manual and commercial devices. Double-spin manual protocols predominated, though centrifugation pa...
Veitch KE, Szczykutowicz TP, Brounts SH, Ergun DL, Muir P, Loeber SJ.To evaluate the radiation dose to personnel locations during simulated head and limb scans with a novel equine standing CT (sCT) system. Methods: Measurements were made with the use of a helical fan beam sCT system (Equina; Asto CT Inc). Scatter radiation was measured in different positions in the sCT room to mimic the location of the control operator, horse handler, and lead rope handler during simulated equine head and limb imaging. Operator/handler dose was quantified at each location using entrance air kerma measured with a spherical ionization chamber and electrometer. Results: Radiation ...
Egenvall A, Valle PS, Hoffman R, Höglund OV, Byström A, Lönnell C, Bonnett BN.In a 10-15-year period, veterinary clinics in Sweden and Norway, as elsewhere, have undergone widespread corporatisation. High veterinary care costs have received attention in the lay press and from competition authorities. Whether corporate chains and independent clinics differ in price levels and how clinic characteristics, such as on-call service, affect pricing is not well-documented. The aim was to analyse prices levels and price changes for various diagnoses/procedures for dogs, cats, and horses from clinics in Norway and Sweden and to examine the influence of affiliation (corporate chai...
Cassady KR, Minter LJ, Gruber EJ.Field veterinarians and researchers studying wild species, such as the southern white rhinoceros, often work in remote areas with limited access to standard laboratory equipment, hindering the ability to measure serum analytes.
Objectives: The first objective was to produce an inexpensive, manually operated centrifuge that could accept standard laboratory tubes by modifying a consumer-grade salad spinner with low-cost materials. The second objective was to compare biochemistry analysis results obtained from equine and southern white rhinoceros serum separated by traditional laboratory and m...
Elliott SM, Giancola SC, Moorman V.To determine if targeted blocking of frontal and infratrochlear nerves provided anesthesia for the approach to a frontonasal sinusotomy. Methods: Two part study: Part 1 randomized crossover design; Part 2 proof of concept. Methods: N = 12; six each in Parts 1 and 2. Methods: Part 1: Each horse had either frontal and infratrochlear nerve blocks or a line block performed with 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride. Mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNT) were obtained at five sites along a proposed frontonasal sinusotomy prior to injection, and at 10, 60, and 120 min after blocking. After a 4 day ...
Colbath AC, Frye CW.Biologic therapies are becoming increasingly utilized by veterinarians. The literature regarding the interaction of biologic therapies with other therapeutics is still in its infancy. Initial studies have examined the effects of exercise, stress, various pharmaceutical interventions, extracorporeal shockwave, therapeutic laser, and hyperbaric oxygen on biologic therapies. Continued research is imperative as owners and veterinarians increasingly choose a multimodal approach to injury and illness. Further, understanding the effects of concurrently administered treatments and pharmaceuticals as w...
Lavado RA, Lewis J, Montgomery JB.Laminitis is a severely debilitating and life-threatening condition that occurs as a consequence of different primary triggering factors. Continuous digital hypothermia (CDH) is recommended in horses at risk of, or diagnosed with, acute laminitis due to its several physiological and biochemical alterations that may be positive for the prevention and early treatment of the condition, representing a low risk of adverse effects. Modulation of the inflammatory response, profound vasoconstriction, and prevention of tissue damage are the most notable protective effects of cryotherapy on the lamellae...
Kidd JA, Dyson SJ, Barr AR.Intratendonous infection in the absence of any clinical evidence of a wound has not, to our knowledge, been described previously in horses. This paper reports the clinical features, diagnostic techniques. treatment and outcome in 5 cases of septic flexor tendon core lesions. This condition is characterised by seven lameness and ultrasonographic evidence of a central intratendonous anechoic core lesion which may enlarge rapidly.